Page 25 - Shirehampton FC v Bradford Town LPC 131223

Charlton’s Ballon d’Or Disaster

Dane’s first 16 games for the club saw a slight upturn in fortunes for Charlton. He
scored nine goals, providing more for his teammates, and usually won man of the
match; not a huge surprise for a player deemed a peer of Johan Cruyff. But it was also
a frustrating experience for Simonsen. His new teammates were not up to his speed,
and incisive through balls, inch-perfect crosses, and magical moments were wasted by
teammates who were always behind him. He couldn’t do it alone, as evidenced by a
7-1 drubbing against Burnley.

Simonsen did have bright moments, the most notable against Chelsea following that
Burnley game. Charlton took a two goal lead in the first half, but let it slip before the
hour. Simonsen took charge of the game after that, gliding around the pitch as though
he were still a Barcelona player, beating Chelsea defenders that, like most in the
Second Division, were far below his level, and scoring two goals, creating another, for
a 5-2 win. He had also doubled the attendance at Charlton, to a peak of 13000, but it
wasn’t enough. Just five months after signing him, the south London galactico was
causing financial problems. Hulyer was looking to sell.

Offloading a Ballon d’Or winner was a simpler, but much less profitable, prospect for
Charlton than it had been for Barcelona. Fearing this exact situation, Simonsen’s agent
had put a release clause into the contract he had signed. When Hulyer approached him
to explain that they couldn’t afford his wages, the agent triggered the clause and
Simonsen left the club in January of 1983. He went back to his homeland, and joined
his childhood club VB to see out his relaxed career. Things for Charlton were not so
cosy.

Facing the massive financial losses of the Simonsen experiment, Charlton were soon
also given an even bigger tax bill of more than £400,000. The club finished that season
five places lower than they had the previous, and facing bankruptcy. The club was
placed into administration and force to leave The Valley altogether, to share Selhurst
Park with Crystal Palace.

So the signing of Allan Simonsen did have the huge impact on Charlton that Hulyer had
claimed, just not the one he had hoped for.

Enjoy the game.

Martyn Green The Untold Game
Find more at TheUntoldGame.co.uk or on social media @TheUntoldGame